The 29-year-old shook off the disappointment of his club's relegation to the Chinese League One with a state-of-the-art mansion he calls 'Ighalo residence'; an edifice equipped with a swimming pool, a gym and a mini-football pitch.

On the field of play, the Nigeria international was in his best goalscoring form this year in the Chinese Super League scoring 21 goals in 28 matches that made him the second highest goalscorer in the 2018 Chinese top-flight season.